Sometimes the Chamber delivers good news for you all. Other times, it is the obnoxious guest you wish you hadn't invited. So let's get to the obnoxious guest portion:
- Most of the buzz around Cardinal Ritter DB Marvin Burks lately has trended to Ole Miss. That may be meaningful...but it's tough to tell with this kid. Missouri seemed to be totally out of it. Then there was a period of time where Missouri was thought to be the favorite and he even visited for the season opener. And now it seems Missouri is behind again. Again, often times the chatter is accurate and Burks may well be destined for Ole Miss. But this is a kid who never does interviews. We haven't spoken to him since his official visit in June. So the chatter also could just be idle speculation.
- There is a quartet of St. Louis stars headed to South Bend this weekend. Christian Gray committed to Notre Dame in July. Jeremiyah Love very well could do the same this weekend. The Irish are considered a heavy favorite at this point for Ryan Wingo. The fourth member of the traveling party is 2024 CBC receiver Jeremiah McClellan. If Mizzou has a shot at any of the four, this is the best shot. But we don't think the chances are great right now.
- A number of you have wondered aloud if there's any chance Oklahoma's rough start could have OL Cayden Green looking around. The short answer is no. Green never struck us as a kid who would look around after his decision was made. We spoke to someone who has been in contact with him in the last week and we were told Green is "locked in" to OU. One game or one season doesn't generally make or break decisions for kids, especially one who had this many options. And even if he was looking around because the Sooners are struggling mightily, that's not exactly a ringing endorsement for the chances of a team with a 2-4 record.
- After reading the last three paragraphs, if you haven't broken your laptop, we can hear you asking "After back to back top 20 classes, why is Missouri struggling this year with the local kids?" We've got a few thoughts:
*First, this is kind of how it has always gone. The beginning of a new regime brings renewed energy and excitement and talk from local kids about how the staff is putting much more of an emphasis on local kids than it has in the past and everything is great (yes, there was even that talk with Barry Odom early on). That sustains itself for a few months or maybe even a couple years. But the newness wears off and then we have everyone asking how come Mizzou has trouble keeping local kids at home. It's always been this way. There are years here and there with spikes, but by and large, landing kids with options that are viewed as more big-time has always been tough for Missouri and probably always will be.
*Part of the newness wearing off is also about results on the field. Barry Odom debuted with a 4-8 season and followed that up with a 7-6 season padded by wins over bad teams. We're seeing that a little bit with Eli Drinkwitz. Again, one season isn't going to make or break a lot of decisions. But the general direction and attitude toward the program does have an impact. And right now, Missouri is 2-4 after having been a .500ish program for the last seven seasons. We said since last December that there needed to be tangible progress in terms of the win/loss record this season. So far that's not happening and it certainly has to be a factor for some players.
*NIL is a major factor in recruiting. Probably the most major factor. It helped Missouri last year. It's not helping this year, or at least not nearly as much. For NIL to help, it has to be a consistent year over year thing. Missouri started with a bang...but from what we've heard, that has leveled off a bit this year. There are kids who are quite simply getting better offers (again, not that NIL can be used as a recruiting inducement or that any school in America would skirt the rules to make it one). To ignore this factor would be not telling a big part of the story.
So what needs to happen to turn it around? Quite simply, Missouri needs results. It needs to finish this season on a positive note, possibly even making a push to a bowl game. And then the 2021 and 2022 classes need to be the backbone of a good team in the 2023 season. If that happen, there's reason to hope that Drinkwitz's first two classes are repeatable. If it doesn't, the chances of it happening are far less likely.
- Most of the buzz around Cardinal Ritter DB Marvin Burks lately has trended to Ole Miss. That may be meaningful...but it's tough to tell with this kid. Missouri seemed to be totally out of it. Then there was a period of time where Missouri was thought to be the favorite and he even visited for the season opener. And now it seems Missouri is behind again. Again, often times the chatter is accurate and Burks may well be destined for Ole Miss. But this is a kid who never does interviews. We haven't spoken to him since his official visit in June. So the chatter also could just be idle speculation.
- There is a quartet of St. Louis stars headed to South Bend this weekend. Christian Gray committed to Notre Dame in July. Jeremiyah Love very well could do the same this weekend. The Irish are considered a heavy favorite at this point for Ryan Wingo. The fourth member of the traveling party is 2024 CBC receiver Jeremiah McClellan. If Mizzou has a shot at any of the four, this is the best shot. But we don't think the chances are great right now.
- A number of you have wondered aloud if there's any chance Oklahoma's rough start could have OL Cayden Green looking around. The short answer is no. Green never struck us as a kid who would look around after his decision was made. We spoke to someone who has been in contact with him in the last week and we were told Green is "locked in" to OU. One game or one season doesn't generally make or break decisions for kids, especially one who had this many options. And even if he was looking around because the Sooners are struggling mightily, that's not exactly a ringing endorsement for the chances of a team with a 2-4 record.
- After reading the last three paragraphs, if you haven't broken your laptop, we can hear you asking "After back to back top 20 classes, why is Missouri struggling this year with the local kids?" We've got a few thoughts:
*First, this is kind of how it has always gone. The beginning of a new regime brings renewed energy and excitement and talk from local kids about how the staff is putting much more of an emphasis on local kids than it has in the past and everything is great (yes, there was even that talk with Barry Odom early on). That sustains itself for a few months or maybe even a couple years. But the newness wears off and then we have everyone asking how come Mizzou has trouble keeping local kids at home. It's always been this way. There are years here and there with spikes, but by and large, landing kids with options that are viewed as more big-time has always been tough for Missouri and probably always will be.
*Part of the newness wearing off is also about results on the field. Barry Odom debuted with a 4-8 season and followed that up with a 7-6 season padded by wins over bad teams. We're seeing that a little bit with Eli Drinkwitz. Again, one season isn't going to make or break a lot of decisions. But the general direction and attitude toward the program does have an impact. And right now, Missouri is 2-4 after having been a .500ish program for the last seven seasons. We said since last December that there needed to be tangible progress in terms of the win/loss record this season. So far that's not happening and it certainly has to be a factor for some players.
*NIL is a major factor in recruiting. Probably the most major factor. It helped Missouri last year. It's not helping this year, or at least not nearly as much. For NIL to help, it has to be a consistent year over year thing. Missouri started with a bang...but from what we've heard, that has leveled off a bit this year. There are kids who are quite simply getting better offers (again, not that NIL can be used as a recruiting inducement or that any school in America would skirt the rules to make it one). To ignore this factor would be not telling a big part of the story.
So what needs to happen to turn it around? Quite simply, Missouri needs results. It needs to finish this season on a positive note, possibly even making a push to a bowl game. And then the 2021 and 2022 classes need to be the backbone of a good team in the 2023 season. If that happen, there's reason to hope that Drinkwitz's first two classes are repeatable. If it doesn't, the chances of it happening are far less likely.
